Hi

I lost my first dog tow years ago to cancer a beautiful female golden retriever, Ellie, she was just beautiful and perfect and I loved her so much I could never have another golden as I know I would be comparing any new golden to her, I loved her very much.

Last year I started the search for dog number tow and I keep coming back to a rough collie and so went to crufts last year and I just knew they were for me everything about them is perfect for me, since then I have been meeting as many owners of the breed as I can and apart from one thing everything else is perfect for me.

The one thing I'm worrying about is how vocal they are, being used to a golden I haven't really experienced living with a vocal dog as Ellie was very quiet.

I suffer with a condition called tinnitus, and it's a condition in the ears were loud noises can make it worse. Ellie only barked when there was someone at the door, if a cat was in our garden or if next doors dog was in the garden but she was never constantly barking so my tinnitus was fine , as she only barked for a reason.

The problem I have is that I'm getting different awnsers from the owners and breeders I speak to, some breeders and owners say there collies also only bark when there is something to bark like how Ellie was and that collies don't bark needlessly that there not happy dogs.

Were others say that there a very vocal breed who will bark at everything and anything. So I'm not sure what to do as apart from that there perfect for me, I don't mind barking it's just my condition I have to be careful of if I didn't have tinnitus I would already be looking into a collie pup.

One owner I spoke to said it's all to do with training that the reason your getting different answers will depend on how the collie is bred and raised,  if raised with positive methods and a lot of effort has been done on training for less vocal dog than it can be done and that in her opinion no dog barks for no reason those who bark all the time could be cut there anxious or bored ect.

I just want to ask what you all think? Do collies bark all the time for no reason or are they like Ellie only bark when someone comes to the door ect?

Rough Collies like Smooth Collies & Shetland Sheepdogs were originally used to work stock like Huntaways do i.e. by a mixture of eye & bark on the hillsides of the Scottish Highlands(& Shetland beaches in the case of Shetland Sheepdogs) They can be quite vocal untrained & despite generations between working dogs & the current dogs they have retained the barking behaviour.

Like all unwanted behaviours it can be trained out with consist training & reactions to unwanted barking. Most dogs if good character & temperament only bark for a reason, but some do bark instinctively or because they enjoy barking. The owners task is to make not barking more rewarding than barking.

There is only one breed that doesn't bark per se & that is a fairly rare the
Basenji however they do yodel/howl quite a lot.

So as long as I work hard at training it's possible to train a rough collie to not bark as much? As I really don't want to have to look at another breed?

Personality wise there perfect for me.

Start as you mean to go on & you'll be fine. Dogs usually bark to get attention or warn off don't make the getting attention rewarding & there's nothing in it for the dog. Make being quiet rewarding & the dog will soon learn.

I don't like dogs that bark for no reason either

Thank you so much , what have your experiences been with rough collies I have been told there very Friendly and affectionate with there owners , aloof with strangers, gentle, calm and playful, sensitive dogs.

Having had Rough Collies for over 40 years I can confirm that they do not bark unduly and only if there is a reason. They are very trainable as well as showing them I also competed in obedience. Although I do not have one at the moment would not hesitate to have another one. Love them.!
If you go on the site Collielife you will find a list of local people who would be willing to talk to you and meet their dogs. Good luck!

Quite a friendly type of dog, lots more grooming than with my working dogs(but they are mainly smooth coated) & with decent owners well mannered too.  Met a few over the years, whilst the amount of coat has increased the temperaments remain the same.

I have been told that when the undercoat starts to come out it's best to get as much out as possible, sometimes huge amounts come out at once a bit like my Dorper sheep whose fleece is a mixture of wool & hair & sometimes drops off without shearing !!

My sister is a dog groomer and will be doing all the grooming while I learn,

Thank you for all your help and advice , I think the collie is the breed I will be going with.

Also, if anyone would like to share there experiences with rough collies or anything you think I should know then feel free as I will be very appreciative

> <br />There is only one breed that doesn't bark per se & that is a fairly rare the [url=undefined]<br />Basenji[/url] however they do yodel/howl quite a lot.

Don't go for a Basenji if you have a hearing problem.    It's been said they don't bark, but that does not mean they are 'silent'.   Having been benched next to the breed (Bassets - Basenji) I can tell you more often than not, especially with an indoor show, I almost always went home with a raging headache!

Thank you very much, I have no interest in the basenji and to be honest don't really want to look at another breed as apart from the barking collies are perfect for me.

My condition is also the reason I went off the basset hound because at crufts at the basset stand my tinnitus started getting louder so I knew I could not unfortunately live with a basset.

Funnily enough the collie stand the rough collies there were not barking

I have a rough Collie, live on a main road, and suffer from tinnitus.

She’s only vocal when someone comes up the drive, which is what I want. If she barks any other time I tell her to be quiet....which she does.....she never barks when she’s outside, even when the dog next door does...she knows it’s not allowed!

I absolutely love rough collies and would have a house full....they’re fairly easy to train but are quite aloof in certain situations, I wouldn’t say they’re exceptionally noisy or even hard to groom.....you just need to stay on top of the brushing and make sure you get down to the undercoat so the skin can breath.

> at crufts at the basset stand my tinnitus started getting louder

Strange because as a rule, Bassets don't make barking noise.   But it's been years since I was showing so perhaps today's Bassets are different!   Mine would have a howl-in, but didn't bark.   And my current one, bought in not home-bred, almost never barks - unlike my Whippet who yaps!!

The two bassets I know very much do make barking noise and one of them, continually!  They could easily be exceptions to the rule though due to their backstories (so to speak).

I have never lived with rough collies, but where I used to live I used to meet two (from different owners) on my daily walks nearly every day, and they certainly didn't bark while out on their walks. Don't know what they were like at home of course!

> The two bassets I know very much do make barking noise and one of them, continually!

I'd suggest that unlike mine, those two are unhappy!   Yes, if a hound is left alone (even with 2 of them) for hours he may well kick off - they don't take what they don't like 'lying down'!    And the howling thing is compulsive and something mine HAVE done.   Was an occasion when, after coming home from a shopping trip,  the house was 'alive'.   We got right into the kitchen before they realised we'd returned and stopped - looking guilty!   But one starts and the rest HAVE to join in, even from a deep sleep.   But again, with Bassets it's more likely to be howling, than barking.

Even if one does bark, it's not a high-pitched yap or anything like the noise a Basenji makes

I've lived with them since 1972.

Thank you all I have decided on the rough collie.

> she knows it’s not allowed!

This is the main point.

I own a breed that tends to be vocal.

With that in mind from earliest days they are taught that more than as bark or two is not appreciat3d.  If they bark outside they are called in, every time, so they soon work out that if they want to be outside etc they must keep quiet.